BJ Shea really is an H-hole

With swearing, repeated use of the word “retarded,” and the catch phrase “At least once a day, you should experience a BJ,” BJ Shea’s Seattle radio show isn’t for everyone.

He knows that.

“I say things that are going to be volatile,” says Shea, the morning guy on 99.9 KISW . “I know people are going to be offended because I know humanity, but I’m not saying things just to piss people off. I’m speaking the truth. It’s my truth.”

It’s a truth that a lot of people in Seattle can relate to. Since 2006, when “The BJ Shea Morning Experience” replaced the syndicated Howard Stern show, his ratings have steadily increased. Shea is the second most popular radio personality in Seattle with the key demographic of adult listeners, according to the current Arbitron diary ratings. (Bob Rivers on KZOK has the top radio show). With the target male audience, Shea is a leader across all age demographics.

In some ways, Shea’s show follows the shock jock format – locker room humor, innuendo, provocative guests, and obnoxious discussions between Shea and five other guys on the show. But Shea also has meaningful conversations with listeners about relationship issues. And he’s a solid interviewer with a range of guests from political commentator Ann Coulter to Seattle Sounders star Kasey Keller, who really opened up this week about hooliganism in European soccer.

“We go deeper than most shows in our genre,” says Shea. “I think the only shock of what we do is that we’re honest.”

Honesty is a big thing for Shea. He grew up in the 60s at a time when “nobody told the truth and everything was swept under the rug” he says.

The “H” in H-hole stands for honesty. That’s a phrase his wife Kathy came up with many years ago after he was fired from a radio job for expressing his opinion. The managers wanted him to lie about why he was being let go. He wouldn’t.

He told his wife, “Because I’m being honest, I’m an A-hole.” She said, “That makes you an H-hole.”

BJ and Kathy have been married for 25 years. They have a son who’s 20 and a 17-year-old daughter. A stable marriage and family is atypical for a shock jock.

“I was never the ‘hey lets go out and get tail’ guy,” says Shea, who describes himself as shy and reclusive. “I have an amazing wife and kids. I work hard at improving my relationships and my show.”

Hard work is another theme that goes back to Shea’s childhood. Doctors told his adoptive parents he had a developmental disability. They were advised to put him in an institution because he would never be able to do anything.

“My bio parents left me in a crib for 18 months with no stimuli,” he says. “I didn’t walk or talk until I was four-years-old.'”

Growing up, he believed he was a “slow child,” so he worked harder than other kids to understand what he thought came easily for everybody else. Shea says he became a “super analytical and curious person.” Testing during high school revealed he was misdiagnosed as a kid. He didn’t have a learning disability. If anything, he was brighter than average students.

As an adult, Shea still feels like he has to work harder than others in the radio industry.

“If we sound like we’re having a fun time and we’re not really doing anything except talking, that’s what we want,” he says. “But we’re all working hard.”